There are numerous instruments and measurement techniques for diagnostic testing of materials related to medical, veterinary medical, environmental, biohazard, bioterrorism, agricultural commodity, and food safety. Diagnostic testing traditionally requires long response times to obtain meaningful data, involves expensive remote or cumbersome laboratory equipment, requires large sample size, utilizes multiple reagents, demands highly trained users, and can involve significant direct and indirect costs. For example, in both the human and veterinary diagnostic markets, most tests require that a sample be collected from a patient and then sent to a laboratory, where the results are not available for several hours or days. As a result, the caregiver must wait to treat the patient.
Point of use (or point of care when discussing human or veterinary medicine) solutions for diagnostic testing and analysis, although capable of solving most of the noted drawbacks, remain somewhat limited. Even some of the point of use solutions that are available are limited in sensitivity and reproducibility compared to in laboratory testing. There is also often significant direct costs to a user as there can be separate systems for each point of use test that is available.